By Colleen Donovan & Karen Kinney
Updated: 4-19-2021

Raising external funds to support core operations or programs is a necessity for most farmers markets. WSU’s 2010 farmers market survey found that vendor stall and membership/application fees are the most important source of revenue for 89% of Washington farmers markets. However, only a quarter of markets secured 100% of their market revenue from vendor fees[1].

There’s No Free Money (sorry!)

As anyone involved in fundraising knows, “free” money is a lot of work! And different fundraising strategies require different skills, time, timing, and administrative capacity. There is always an “opportunity cost” for the time your market spends fundraising instead of attending to its core operations. The key is to plan ahead so that your market knows what it is investing in fundraising, especially in terms of people power, and what it hopes to accomplish.

Sometimes a “break-even” fundraising event like a Harvest Dinner may also serve important, non-financial goals such as affirming ties with the business community, retaining or recruiting new volunteers, and building the market’s vendor and shopper base. And don’t forget to include your market’s fundraising expenses and revenue goals in the annual budget.

Fundraising Evaluation Matrix

One way to collectively evaluate “great ideas” (including new grant opportunities) is to agree where it falls in the Fundraising Evaluation Matrix.

The first step is to quantify the investment that the market will need to make, including in-kind contributions. This may come in the form of additional staff time, adding staff work during a critical time in the market season, direct expenses, or rechanneling donations or volunteers’ good will for a fundraising project instead of core market operations. In the case of grants, there is the added administrative work and reporting. And in the case of federal grants, this can be substantial.

The next step is to quantify the projected return your market can reasonably expect from pursuing that fundraising opportunity. If it is a new endeavor and you don’t know, then estimate a range and put the low end of the range into your budget. Here again, consider all of the various types of “returns” to your market.

• Is it money? If so, how much? And when will your market be able to access the funds?
• If funding, is it “restricted” to specific budget categories and programs? Or “unrestricted” meaning you can spend it however you need to.
• Does it invest in longer-term goals such as building visibility for the market that can attract vendors, shoppers, or sponsors?
• Does it add core shoppers to your market’s mailing list, facilitating direct communication?
• Does it contribute to a policy goal or advocacy project that your market is working towards?

There is no “right” answer. The purpose of the Matrix is to think through “great ideas” and get everyone affected on the same page and committed.

Fundraising Strategies

The most common fundraising strategies for farmers markets, beyond vendor fees, are sponsorships, fundraising events, and grants. Markets also sell merchandise which tends to function mostly as promotions rather than bringing in the big bucks. Many markets also have “Friends of…” or Community Memberships that can increase their financial support. There are pros and cons to each strategy and what’s right for your market depends on the capacity you have to implement.

Strategy	Investment Needed	Pros/Cons
Sponsorships	Sponsorship “program” with goals, strategy, staff time, sponsorship levels with what sponsor gets; and a “thank you” protocol Cultivation and outreach to sponsors Ability to promote sponsor and investment in banner or whatever means market uses	Unrestricted funds Amounts may be from $100 to 1,000 or more May be time consuming Relatively low impact on accounting Have to renew annually Vulnerable to economic downturns
Fundraising events	Venue and theme and some sort of draw Event planning skills, including promotions, managing lots of moving parts, and herding volunteers Connections to chefs, entertainers, or other talent Infrastructure to pull off event such as tables, chairs, A/V, decorations, etc. Photographer or videographer to capture event Appropriate insurance Thank you’s	Potential for in-kind donations from supporters and vendors Can be a real crowd-pleaser and community builder; maybe even fun! Usually labor intensive Proliferation of farm dinners and similar events increases competition for “foodie” dollar Returns are unrestricted unless they are being raised for specific program or cause
Grants – private Major donors	Time and connections to cultivate relationships with private foundations and philanthropists Projects that meet funders guidelines Project development and management experience Being able to fit funded projects into your budget Reporting to funders May want personal site visits May need 501c3 status	Private grants can be unrestricted or restricted – from a foundation or individual, and from modest to incredible amounts. Individual grants or large donations can be very low maintenance once established. However, they can be unpredictable too and suddenly change interests or funding plans.
USDA and other Public Grants	Most of the above, plus: Excellent accounting capacity Strong policies and practices around internal controls Strong project development skills, especially for multi-year projects Ability/desire to work with partners Proposal writing and budgeting skills Tends to operate on a reimbursement basis so cash flow Experience with a specialized vocabulary needed to know how to read and interpret RFA Reports required	Almost always restricted funds Predictable and usually have consistent funding priorities Don’t need to be 501c3 to apply Will fund staffing and some overhead Can be large grants for multiple years
Friends of the Market and Community Memberships	Will need “program” that maps out funding levels and benefits Excellent information management and database of members Annual renewals required Strong “thank you” protocols	Raises unrestricted funds May help to have 501c3 status Builds connection to shoppers and other supporters

Whatever your strategies, keep in mind the three golden rules of fundraising.

1. People give money to people. This means that having a good relationship with the funder or donor is essential to success.
2. Success breeds success.  People like “winners” and being part of something that has energy and momentum. This means that getting a success (even a small one) needs to be highlighted and used to generate the perception of success.
3. You have to make the ask.  Many of us tend not to like to ask for anything, let alone money. And yet the most common reason people don’t give, is because they aren’t asked. Likewise, if you have a great market and your enthusiasm shows through, people feel really great about being able to meaningfully help!

Examples of WA FM Fundraising Tools

• Anacortes Farmers Market’s sponsorship program
• Leavenworth Community Farmers Market donation information
• Neighborhood Farmers Market’s An Incredible Feast
• Tacoma Farmers Market donations and sponsor info
  

Project Development Resources

• The Project Plan map graphic showing relationships between different parts of a proposed project
• Project Planning Worksheet guide to 10 key questions to help you develop your proposed project

Good Fundraising Resources for Farmers Markets

• Assessing Your Organization’s Fundraising Readiness from Institute for Conservation Readiness
• Fundraising Strategies for SNAP Match Programs at Farmers Markets Compiled by the Farmers Market Fund and Oregon Farmers Markets Association (2016)
• Organizational Details: Funding from Market Umbrella
• Grantcraft website
• Funding Information Network: Free resources for nonprofits and individuals seeking grants brochure is from Wenatchee, but these centers are located around the state
• USDA “Know Your Farmer Know Your Food” website
• USDA Ag Marketing Service “Grants and Opportunities” in the 2014 Farm Bill

[1] Summary Report: Farmers Markets and the Experience of Market Managers in Washington State Marcy Ostrom and Colleen Donovan (2013).

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Fundraising for Your Farmers Market (Sept 2016)
Downloadable PDF